Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Smoke Alarms...


Change Your Clock. Change Your Battery

Tacoma Fire Department would like to remind everyone to take a few moments to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms this weekend.

Smoke alarms most often fail because of missing, dead or disconnected batteries, so maintenance is a simple and effective way to protect your family and reduce home fire deaths.

According to the Washington State Fire Marshal, 82 percent of fire deaths in our State occur in homes without working smoke alarms and the peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. - when most families are sleeping.

For best protection, it is recommended that people install alarms utilizing both (ionization and photoelectric) technology and ones that have long life 10 year lithium ion batteries.

Visit the United States Fire Administration and National Fire Protection Association for additional information regarding smoke alarm types, installation, maintenance and safety.